There are many situations in which it is desirable to have a towel readily available but in which it is difficult to protect the towel from getting wet or soiled. Such situations include golfing, fishing, bowling, and working in a machine shop.
On the golf course, a towel can easily become soaked by rain, whether expected or unexpected. Unfortunately, on rainy days the need for a towel on the golf course is usually greater than the need on sunny days. Therefore, just when a golfer needs a towel most to dry his clubs or the golf ball, any towel that might be available is likely to be too wet to be of any use. A similar situation prevails in relation to fishing, especially fishing from a moving boat. Just when the need for a towel is the greatest, that is when the spray is the heaviest, the available towels tend to be their wettest.
Bowlers also have a regular need for a clean and dry towel since it is very important that their hands be clean and dry in order to prevent the bowling ball from slipping accidently out of their grip. Although rain showers or spraying water are generally not a problem in a bowling alley, it is usually difficult to find a clean place to put a towel where the towel will not be likely to become soiled.
In machine shops and other work areas, a towel is frequently needed for wiping hands or tools or other objects. However, in such work areas there is also frequently a lot of dust flying around. This dust tends to settle on everything in the work area, including any towels that might be exposed to the dust. Moreover, if a towel is used to wipe grease or other dirt from an object, the towel will tend to in turn soil any surface with which it comes in contact. In addition, an ordinary towel has no special means for carrying or hanging the towel, and ordinary towel holders are not portable.
In each of the above situations and in similar situations, it is also difficult to protect clothing and other items from coming into contact with a used towel. Such contact tends to transfer moisture and dirt from the towel to the clothing or other item.
The applicant is unaware of any commercially available accessories or of any accessories disclosed in the patent literature that perform the functions performed by the portable towel accessory of the present invention or that have more than superficial resemblance to the accessory of the present invention. However, the patent discussed below may be of interest in connection with the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,938,570, granted Feb. 17, 1976, to Edra J. Stewart, discloses a dual purpose golf club head cover. The cover protects the golf club head and additionally has a towel-like skirt that can be used for wiping a ball, a club, or hands. The cover itself, including the skirt, is not protected from rain or dirt. The cover is generally carried by placing it over a golf club head, and the cover is apparently not intended to be carried separately from the golf club.